Who pays when a news organisation is destroyed?

The Delhi High Court has now quashed both the Delhi Police FIR and the ED case against NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha in the alleged foreign funding matter. In doing so, the court used unusually strong words, calling the continuation of the proceedings a “gross abuse of the process of law.”

The legal implications of the judgment will be discussed by lawyers and constitutional experts. But I am left with a more human question.

Who pays for the years that were lost?

Prabir is a fellow journalist and a colleague in Digipub. Over the last few years, I interacted with him occasionally during our online Digipub meetings. Like everyone else in those meetings, he would participate in discussions on media regulations, digital journalism and the challenges facing independent news organisations. But what also stood out was the strain he seemed to be carrying. It was evident that the case and the uncertainty surrounding it had taken a personal toll. He often appeared worried, anxious and under considerable stress as he navigated a battle that stretched on for years.

This was never just about one individual.

NewsClick was effectively shut down. Journalists lost their jobs. Young reporters and media professionals suddenly found themselves associated with allegations that were making national headlines. Some spent years dealing with uncertainty about their future, their careers and their reputations.

Today, a court has concluded that even if the allegations in the FIR were accepted at face value, the offences alleged were simply not made out. The court has also held that the ED proceedings flowing from that FIR cannot survive.

That naturally raises difficult questions.

When a case continues for years and is eventually struck down, who accounts for the damage caused during that period? Who compensates the journalists who lost their livelihoods? Who restores the credibility of people who spent years defending themselves in public? Who pays for the opportunities that disappeared and the institution that collapsed?

Investigative agencies must have the power to investigate wrongdoing. No democracy can function without that. But the power to investigate also carries a responsibility. If courts later conclude that a case should never have proceeded in the first place, there must be some reflection on what happened and why.

Because while a judgment can bring legal closure, it cannot always restore what was lost along the way.

That, perhaps, is the larger question arising from the NewsClick verdict.